Poker is a card game played by two or more players. Each player places chips (representing money) in a pot before each round of betting begins. When it is your turn, you can place a bet by raising, calling or folding your cards. The best five-card hand wins the pot. There are often rules that determine how this money is shared among the players.

Once all players have 2 hole cards, a round of betting starts. The player to the left of the button puts in a mandatory bet called a blind, which the players to his or her left must match or raise. This gives everyone an incentive to play and prevents players from “blinding off.”

After the first round of betting, 1 more card is dealt face up on the table. This is called the flop. Another round of betting begins, this time starting with the player to the left of the dealer. Players are then able to combine their own 2 personal cards with the 5 community cards in order to make their best 5-card hand.

A winning poker hand can consist of one of the following combinations of cards: A high card, which consists of the highest-ranking single card in the player’s hand. A pair, which consists of two matching cards of the same rank. A full house, which consists of 3 cards of one rank and 2 matching cards of another rank. A straight, which consists of 5 consecutive cards in increasing rank but from different suits.